The 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking in 2012: 6-10

6. Carrie Tolstedt
Senior EVP, Community Banking, Wells Fargo & Co.

• Oversees retail, small business and business operations, serving 22 million households and more than 2.5 million businesses

• Equipped all teller windows with touch-screen devices that speed up customer authentication and enable paperless withdrawals, reducing transaction time by a third

• Boosted insurance referrals from branches last year by more than 250% from 2010

• Improved credit card penetration to 29.9% in the first quarter, from 27.2% a year earlier

7. Ellen Costello
CEO, BMO Financial Corp., and U.S. Country Head, BMO Financial Group

•Led turnaround of underperforming U.S. banking unit for Toronto parent company from August 2006 through July 2011, posting a compound annual growth rate of 8% for loans and 10% for deposits in that time

•Conducted five acquisitions, including a transformative one with M&I that boosted assets to $189 billion

•Became CEO of the holding company in July 2011, with responsibility for navigating the regulatory gauntlet that comes with being designated a significantly important financial institution

•Became chair of United Way of Metro Chicago in December and led its CEO selection process this spring; also on the board and executive committee of the Financial Services Roundtable, and vice chair of its nominating committee

8. Cathy Bessant
Global Technology And Operations Executive, Bank Of America

•Completed the largest technology conversion at the company to date in May 2012, making the California operation consistent with the rest of the country and resulting in a single core banking platform nationwide

•Drove technology improvements that helped increase customer use of electronic platforms significantly

•Leads multiple initiatives related to reducing risk, including an annual boot camp to refresh training for up to 4,000 people in her business unit and to help them proactively identify and manage operational risks-a program cited by regulators as an industry best practice

•On the board for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, and currently lead director; also on the advisory committee for the NASCAR Hall of Fame

9. Anne Finucane
Global Strategy And Marketing Officer, Bank Of America

•Leads the company's $2 billion marketing, advertising, research and communications effort, and the 2,400 people who are part of that effort

•Designed a strategy in 2011-amid negative press on big banks-to highlight Bank of America's impact on local economic development; went beyond advertising, tapping market presidents for outreach to civic leaders; achieved statistically significant uptick in favorability with customers and prospects

•Chairs the Bank of America Charitable Foundation and oversees $200 million in annual giving

10. Julie Monaco
North America Region Head And Global Head Of Banks, Public Sector And Marketing For CITI Transaction Services, Citigroup

•Chosen to lead multiyear transformation of Transaction Services business globally from a product-centric to a client-centric view

•Expanded her management duties beyond North America in the summer of 2011, adding global oversight of marketing and of two market segments, banks and the public sector

•Increased revenue from investment managers sharply last year and continued the positive momentum this year with major client wins, such as a February mandate from Credit Suisse Asset Management for middle office and hedge fund administration services